By Chong Jinn Xiung
Most CEOs in their late forties fortify their positions, settling into the rhythm of the establishment for their final run before retirement. Despite the prestige of leading OCBC Bank Malaysia, Jeffrey Chew felt like a passenger in a well-oiled machine rather than the driver.
Chew didn’t want safety; he wanted to see if he could make a bigger impact. Trading banking for property development, he sought to prove that a career professional could be more than just a caretaker — he could be a builder.
“If you take the company away, how much of that success can you say is truly yours?” Chew asked, leaning forward in his chair at Paramount Corporation Berhad’s headquarters in Petaling Jaya. Reflecting on his 23-year banking career, he recognised he had hit a ceiling. To rise further, he would have had to relocate abroad — a move he was unwilling to make. He may have been a CEO, but he wanted genuine control and impact.
THE ACCIDENTAL ARCHITECT
Chew’s arrival at Paramount in 2014 was serendipitous. A headhunter had called to find a replacement for a subordinate at the bank. In a twist of fate, the conversation pivoted, and Chew ended up pitching himself for a role in a completely different industry.
“I said, ‘Since I can’t get your mandate, could I explore the other side as a potential candidate?’” he recalled, laughing. Transitioning from a multinational bank to a family-owned conglomerate required a complete recalibration. Chew wasn’t just managing assets; he was navigating a complex web of family history and personal dynamics.
Recalling the dynamic, Chew described an analogy: “It’s like your father-in-law giving you a mansion and saying, ‘You have full authority to do whatever you please.’” He is still in the house, Chew noted with a smile. “You are empowered, but you never forget that somebody is watching you.”
Unlike a publicly listed multinational, where the chairman is often distant, in a family-run business the owner’s fingerprint is on everything. Every renovation and structural change carries emotional weight. To lead effectively, Chew had to balance professionalising the business with respect for a 50-year family legacy.
“Any attempt to change the culture requires a sensitive approach. Even when the owner explicitly asks for change, one must avoid giving the impression of criticising their life’s work,” he said.
ART OF LETTING GO
Chew’s true test came with Paramount’s education arm — KDU (Kolej Damansara Utama), Sri KDU and REAL Education. More than a financial asset, it was a pioneer in private tertiary education, synonymous with the Paramount name and the group’s sentimental heart. But sentiment cannot subsidise losses.
“The train has left the station,” Chew said plainly. KDU was bleeding RM20 million a year, and with the new Batu Kawan campus in Penang, losses were projected to hit RM40 million annually. “In banking, you build on your assets year after year. But here, it was just not sustainable,” he explained.
“If the late Dato’ Teo were here today, he would be proud of Benjamin’s achievements. To me, that is the real legacy”- Jeffrey Chew
Convincing the board was logical; convincing the founder was emotional. Chew recalled signing the sale agreement with the University of Wollongong in 2019 as one of the hardest days in the late Dato’ Teo’s life.
“It wasn’t just a transaction for him; it was a goodbye. He knew he was saving the company, but there was a profound sense of loss in that room,” Chew reflected.
MICHELIN STARS AND HIDDEN GEMS
The divestment plugged the RM20 million annual loss and freed capital, which was immediately redirected into Paramount’s core property division. To fill the void left by education, the group diversified into food and beverage, acquiring stakes in established franchises like Texas Chicken and San Francisco Coffee, securing a steady, recurring income stream reminiscent of their former education business.
Chew’s philosophy of “intrapreneurship” is exemplified by Dewakan, Malaysia’s first two-Michelin-starred restaurant. Originally a KDU training kitchen, it faced an uncertain future after the university’s sale.
“The late Dato’ Teo asked me, ‘Jeff, what do we do? Do we close it?’” Chew recalled. “But it was his pride and joy.”
Chew recognised the potential in Darren Teoh, a lecturer who had built traction with local ingredients such as kulim fruit and bunga kantan. He relocated the restaurant to the 48th floor of Naza Tower, backing Teoh’s vision with significant capital. Dewakan retained its two-star Michelin status in the 2026 Guide and earned a Green Star for sustainability.
Today, it stands as a symbol of Paramount’s willingness to bet on internal talent — and win.
VISION TO VENTURE
Perhaps Chew’s most important mandate wasn’t financial but dynastic. The late Dato’ Teo had asked him to groom his son, Benjamin Teo, to lead the company. Chew knew that as long as Benjamin remained in the core business, he would be insulated from the gritty realities of entrepreneurship. He needed a venture where the family name offered no protection.
Chew’s solution was a trial by fire. “Throw him into the pool. You swim or you sink.” He secured a RM20 million grant from the board, not as a gift but as a challenge, tasking Benjamin with building a co-working business from scratch. This was the genesis of Co-labs Coworking.
“Any attempt to change the culture requires a sensitive approach. Even when the owner explicitly asks for change, one must avoid giving the impression of criticising their life’s work”
From a single 4,000 sq ft space in Glenmarie, Benjamin scaled Co-labs Coworking to over 199,000 sq ft, securing key locations such as The Five in Damansara Heights and Mid Valley Southkey in Johor Bahru. Co-labs Coworking is no longer an experiment; it is a growth engine targeting 300,000 sq ft in the coming years.
“If the late Dato’ Teo were here today, he would be proud of Benjamin’s achievements. To me, that is the real legacy,” Chew said.
Even as he steered Paramount, Chew addressed a systemic flaw in Malaysia’s financial system: the RM90 billion SME financing gap. His solution was Fundaztic, a peer-to-peer platform providing credit to businesses too small for banks but too large for micro-credit.
Built on a proprietary credit-scoring model that looked beyond collateral, Fundaztic operated at a loss for five years, building trust and algorithms from scratch. By 2025, it had mobilised over RM500 million in funding, becoming a lifeline for thousands of SMEs. The late Dato’ Teo validated the venture as an early investor; Paramount now owns 30 percent of Fundaztic’s holding company, Omegaxis Sdn Bhd.
CONSCIOUS RESPONSIBILITY
Chew’s vision for Paramount is anchored in “responsible scale” — growth that respects both the balance sheet and the community. Projects like Bukit Banyan preserve a 25-acre hill park, while transit-oriented land acquisitions in Putrajaya aim to reduce urban reliance on cars.
“When you have one billion, that’s not your money… that’s the trust society gave you,” Chew said, citing Jack Ma.
By leaving banking to answer the question, “Is it me, or is it the logo?”, Chew proved that a hired CEO could possess the soul of a founder. His legacy is etched in Paramount’s skyline, thriving ventures and a philosophy that values principled, sustainable growth as much as profit.
Photography: Lily Allissa, Art Direction: Khairani Ramli
